Although Italy is the fourth most visited country in the world, the southern Italian region of Basilicata remains largely unexplored, even by Italians. Unlike its vacation hotspot neighbour Puglia to the east, or Campania’s bucket-list stops such as Amalfi and Pompeii to
the west, Basilicata is quite easy to bypass.

Even for me, a self-proclaimed Italophile with my roots firmly planted in Calabria (the region just below), this was my first time in the unsung territory. A late fall visit, during which I spent some exceptionally luminous days soaking up the last rays of la dolce vita, turned out to be part and parcel of my winter survival kit this year.